10 Amazing Facts About Dolphins You Probably Didn’t Know

Dolphins are truly the beautiful creatures of the world: so many people love watching them while holidaying in Orlando, while some have been fortunate enough to swim with these wonderful mammals.

Most of us know very little about Dolphins. Sure, we know that they’re extremely intelligent, we know that the most common type of Dolphin is called a Bottlenose, and I think most of us know that they’re carnivores – but that’s about it! There is so much more to know about these lovely creatures, and some of it could surprise you.

Below we’ve listed some Dolphin facts. See how many of these you already know: you’re probably quite the expert if you know half or more.

[dropcap]1[/dropcap] Mother Dolphins Name Their Calves

The reason we know this is because a female Dolphin has a specific call for each of her calves, and can identify one from the other. In addition, Dolphins have individual identities, just like humans.

[dropcap]2[/dropcap] Dolphins Are Unable To Breathe Underwater

When a Dolphin rises to the surface they use their blowholes to take in air. When a Dolphin gives birth she will do so very near to the surface – the baby will emerge tail first to prevent drowning.

[dropcap]3[/dropcap] Dolphins Hunt as a Cooperative

Dolphins are widely known to hunt for their prey cooperatively, which might be lending a hand to other dolphin hunters or receiving help from others. They’ve been known to work with humans, birds, and even sharks; working together in herding schools of fish into compact groups.

[dropcap]4[/dropcap] Dolphins Can Get a Tan!

The skin colour of Dolphins changes from winter to summer. With less daylight in the winter months their skin becomes lighter, whilst it turns darker in the summer months.

[dropcap]5[/dropcap] Dolphins Don’t Sleep

Dolphins have the amazing ability of resting half of their brain at a time, so instead of sleeping they’re able to constantly stay aware of predators and prey.

[dropcap]6[/dropcap] Dolphins Use Tools

These creatures are so clever! Dolphins use objects in order to achieve their goals. They’ve been observed putting ocean sponges over their snouts whilst bottom-feeding in order to protect themselves from being hurt by stingrays and sea anemones.

[dropcap]7[/dropcap] Dolphins Recognize Themselves in a Mirror

Interestingly, it’s been proven in studies that Dolphins are one of the rare species able to recognize their own image – other species are of course apes and humans.

[dropcap]8[/dropcap] Dolphins Are From the Same Family as Killer Whales

Despite their pretty scary name, Killer Whales are part of the Dolphin family.

[dropcap]10[/dropcap] Dolphins Show Their Feelings

We all know that Dolphins are extremely intelligent, and with this intelligence comes a wonderful capacity to experience and show a range of feelings. They quite commonly show affection, sadness, frustration, and anger. A good Dolphin trainer will instinctively understand how their Dolphin friend is feeling.

[dropcap]9[/dropcap] Dolphins Have a Short Labour

A Dolphin’s labour can last for as little as twenty minutes! Fortunately for female Dolphins their labour will last somewhere from between twenty minutes and two hours. It’s interesting that they have such a short labour because their actual term of pregnancy is twelve months, and that’s three months longer than a human pregnancy.

2 COMMENTS

I love dolphins and they’re my favorite sea creature. In Dolphin Tale, I’m a big fan of Winter the dolphin that lost its whole tale. I really hope I can see a real dolphin up close and get to touch one.